December 21, 2009

Eli for MVP? It's not as crazy as it sounds.: Mike Celizic makes his case for Eli Manning being the NFL's Most Valuable Player of 2009.

posted by mr_crash_davis to football at 02:29 PM - 8 comments

Everyone cried about the end of FireJoeMorgan, but one of the upsides was never having to read one of Celizic's logic-busting columns. The Hat has outdone himself here.

Thesis: Eli for MVP

Supporting Evidence:

  • Despite a month-long losing streak, the 7-6 Giants still have a shot at the postseason
  • I'm not suggesting he's the best quarterback in the league.
  • I'm not going to say that automatically makes him more valuable than Favre, Brees, Rivers, McNabb, Brady and Peyton have been to their teams. But it sure puts him in the discussion.
  • picture him in a Dallas uniform for the past six years. If you don't think the Cowboys would have won some playoff games, you're not being honest.
  • Eli isn't leading the league in anything
  • he has thrown . . . 11 interceptions
  • Quarterback ratings are probably the most abused and least telling stat ever concocted by the numbers wonks . . . In Eli's case, the rating is . . . an indication of the improvement he's shown. It reflects his improved completion percentage and his higher yardage per attempt.
  • shouldn't he at least be the best quarterback in the league? But that's the wrong question. Better is to ask how valuable he is to the Giants.

posted by yerfatma at 03:47 PM on December 21, 2009

It is as crazy as it sounds. The Giants are 7-6. If the season ended today they wouldn't be in the playoffs. The team has wasted a 5-0 start and has only beaten one team with a winning record (Dallas, twice).

posted by rcade at 03:58 PM on December 21, 2009

That looks like the kind of article that was written at 4:45pm on a Friday with a 5pm deadline. Rubbish.

posted by dfleming at 04:23 PM on December 21, 2009

dfleming, you clearly aren't familiar with Celizic's work.

posted by yerfatma at 04:38 PM on December 21, 2009

If Eli manages to get his team deep into the playoffs perhaps you could make the case then, but not now. The way I tend to look at MVP's is this; How does replacing that player with an average player change how the team does?

In the Giants case, at this point it wouldn't matter, they'd still be out of the playoffs. Remove some of those other QB's and their teams suffer greatly. No way are the Vikings 11-3 without Favre, or the Chargers without Rivers, Saints without Brees, etc. So, while the Giants are better with Eli, they're not as much better as those other teams are because of their QB's.

Given their lackluster performance down the stretch, no way do I buy Eli as MVP. He gets them to the Super Bowl and that changes.

posted by dviking at 06:04 PM on December 21, 2009

dfleming, you clearly aren't familiar with Celizic's work.

Why am I always the last to know?

posted by dfleming at 06:28 PM on December 21, 2009

yerfatma: You also forgot that having the best season of your career or being the best QB in franchise history also makes you a candidate for MVP.

posted by jmd82 at 11:33 PM on December 21, 2009

Eli isn't leading the league in anything

I am pretty sure he is leading the league in passes airmailed 5 feet over open receivers' heads. JaMarcus would be giving him a run for his money if not for being benched.

posted by holden at 12:07 AM on December 22, 2009

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